The Last Leaf
by Russet-Stoned
Summary: Rock Lee trains. Sakura watches. Sounds simple, doesn't it?
1. Training

_**A/N: **__This story takes place recently after episode 55, when __Ino__ and Sakura visit__ed Lee in the hospital. In my__ story, he has been released from the hospital but is still recovering.__Action.

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**Training

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Sakura watched him from the shade of a tall oak. So this is what Lee's training is like? No wonder Gaara was afraid of him.

The guy just did not quit. Even with half his body in bandages and splints, he trained harder than most perfectly healthy ninjas would.

"Five hundred roundhouse kicks!" he shouted forcefully, his voice breaking slightly from exertion. "If I can't do that, then it's a thousand push-ups!"

Chips of wood flew as Lee mercilessly attacked the solid stump. It was almost laughable the way he resembled a dilapidated human chainsaw.

_Almost_.

The fury of his attacks surrounded the boy with a haze of sawdust-- sawdust which, a moment later, found its way into the ninja's eyes and throat. Lee flinched, missing the log entirely and landing comically -- and painfully -- on his tail.

From her hidden vantage point under the trees, Sakura didn't know whether to giggle or cry. She was glad that Naruto wasn't around -- he definitely would have been laughing derisively by now.

She wanted to stop him; he was obviously hurting himself, and to no avail, according to what the healers were saying. But then again, to stop him would be dangerous -- to her if she got in the way, and most definitely to Lee's pride.

It pained her to watch as the injured boy gave a few rasping coughs to dislodge the dust, and then flipped over to begin his penance of push-ups.

"One thousand push-ups! If I can't do that, then it's two thousand punches!"

Sakura felt a wrench in her gut, as she remembered how Lee had performed the same exercise on the day she and Ino had gone to visit him while he was still in the hospital. She wanted to stop him then, too, but the nurse hadn't, and she didn't think it was her place...

"Fourteen!"

"Fifteen!"

"Sixteen!"

_Not her place? _How stupid! Maybe Lee wouldn't stop for that woman, but...

"Twenty!"

She was a complete stranger to Lee, after all. Sakura was his friend, and, as Lee had already made quite clear, his crush. What if...

"Twenty-eight!"

"Twenty-nine!"

What if she _had_ stopped him? She knew how proud Lee was, and how determined he was not to accept the healers' words. Sakura could understand his reactions. After all, being a shinobi was everything to Lee. He was not only a rarity; he was a taijutsu genius. Could all that have really been...

"Forty-five!"

_Lost?_

"Forty-seven!"

"Forty-eight!"

"Forty-nine!"

"Fifty!"

Sakura placed her fingers to her lips worriedly. _Lost_. It hurt to even think about it. How could something that required so much work, so much dedication, so much of _Lee's own soul_, suddenly vanish? It just didn't make sense.

"Sixty! GAAH!"

Lee paused, his face drawn into a grimace. Sakura gasped, but Lee didn't hear her. He was panting heavily and gripping his good arm with his bandaged one.

This had gone too far. Sakura was about to rush forward to help him, but then...

"Don't!"

She froze. Did he already know she was watching?

"Don't stop," he rasped, "Lee."

So he was talking to himself. Sakura breathed again, if a little shakily.

"If I can not do even this, I am not a ninja or a man!" With that said, he released his hold on his arm, preparing to continue.

"Because if I can not finish what I start, Sakura-chan will never--" he lurched slightly, nearly collapsing, "never be able to look at me..."

A tear fell, glistening, next to his straining, callused hand.

"...like I look at her."

Lee was not the only one who had tears in his eyes.

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**endchapter1

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_**A/N: **__First __fic__ finis!_

_I'm only up to episode 64 in the anime and chapter 149 in the __manga__, so I don't know what's going to happen to Lee and his ninja abilities. So—__oneshot__, or can it grow? I may lengthen it if there are enough reviews._


	2. Pain

_**A/N** From this point on, my story will create some gaps in the manga storyline, because I am so awesome I can change the workings of time itself. Sakura may be OOC in this one. Action._

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**Pain

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Lee had felt pain before.

He had sprained, fractured, or abraded every one of his limbs at least once since before his academy days. He had lost to Neji – and others – many times, and it wasn't exactly a day at the spa. Put quite simply, pain _hurts_. Everyone knew that.

But this was different, and far worse. Rock Lee could handle pain to an incredible degree – he would still fight, still push himself, even into unconsciousness.

He had no idea how to handle _this_ curveball.

After his little "episode" at the hospital, the healers had decided that the best thing to do was be as blunt as possible. They told him in no uncertain terms that it was impossible for him to fully recover, that he may as well quit now, because he would never be a shinobi again.

He did not believe them. He _couldn't_; it was his "ninja way" never to give up, give in. Lee didn't give a spinning leaf how convinced everyone else was; he would fight to the end -- he had promised Sakura he would protect her to the death.

_A man should never take back his words._

Hope had approached in the form of the newly instated fifth hokage, Tsunade. The fulfillment of all of Lee's promises depended on her diagnosis, and he was more than certain that she could cure him. She was one of the legendary Sannin, so she could cure _anything_.

_Right_?

"It breaks my heart to tell you this, but… you must quit being a shinobi."

That was all. The legendary Tsunade, telling him to give up his life's ambition and purpose and _offering her condolences_.

It broke _her_ heart? _Please_.

So Lee left the stony-faced Tsunade and the utterly hysterical Gai to deal with the problem their own way.

And so he'd ended up here, numb from shock, yet somehow still in pain. And so he trained, trained like the man he hoped to become. Trained like a superhero – the valiant warrior he wanted to be – for Sakura, for himself, for everything he dreamed of.

Rock Lee trained like there _was_ a tomorrow.

But even this strong distraction could only last so long. Suddenly, he realized he couldn't run from the truth anymore.

It hit him like a wave, a solid wall of blue oblivion covering his consciousness. _There was no more_. This was all that was ever meant for him. Rock Lee, the _former_ shinobi. Rock Lee, the boy who _couldn't_ stand up to everything. Rock Lee, the façade.

Because in his mind, that's what he was. If being a ninja was his life, then now he no longer had one.

_Rock Lee, dead man walking._

And so he ceased the relentless exercises, there on the training field. All it took was an ache in his elbow to bring him back to reality.

He hurt because he was injured. He was inured because he fought Gaara, and lost. And his injuries were so severe that he would never be a ninja, or _himself_, ever again.

His mind flew backwards. _The Chuunin exam.Naruto, silenced by Kakashi when he railed at the healers.Gai-sensei's face, sunken with worry.The cracked armor of sand crumbling from Gaara's stoic face.Tears in Haruno Sakura's deep sea green eyes._

A flash of pink appeared in the depths of crushing blue despair that rolled over him. _Sakura_…

… and he remembered the leaves. The day of the second test of the Chuunin exam.

He remembered spiraling downward through the air, reaching out to catch the leaves before they hit the ground. _Catch all twenty, and he had a chance with Sakura. Miss even one, and…_

"…Sakura will never – never look at me – the way I look at her."

The ground became a sludge of green and brown as his vision blurred, his burning, bitter tears falling and moistening the dust between his fingers.

_He had missed one._

He remembered that now. The last leaf had fallen, unimpeded, to the forest floor, and by now it had most likely turned to dust itself.

He was drawn from his reverie by the feel of a softly timid hand brushing his shoulder.

"Don't touch me!" He forced out between clenched teeth, sounding gruffer than he usually did.

"Lee-san…"

Lee twisted around sharply at the sound of that voice. _Her_ voice.

Sakura was kneeling next to him, fingers clasped tightly in her hand, as though Lee had burned her.

Round, dark eyes moved up to capture deep aqua-greens.

"Sakura-chan… I'm – sorry."

Of all the things she had expected to hear, this was not one of them.

"What – why?"

"Because – because I promised to protect you," Lee's eyes dropped back to his arm, as he shifted his weight fully onto it again. "And now Tsunada-sama says – says I can't – "

A breath grated roughly against his throat as he bit back a sob, another smattering of tears falling on his hand.

"Lee-san… what did she say?" Sakura asked timidly. _Was it wrong to ask?_

Lee didn't look at her. He released his arm, forcing it to bend, pitting every fiber of his will against the temptation to give in to gravity.

"Six – sixty-one –"

As his arm collapsed, Sakura's slid against his chest and shoulders. From her awkward kneeling position, she managed to support Lee's weight. Her slightly hoarse voice sounded from beside him, her sweet-and-sour breath tickling his right ear.

"Please, Lee. Will you – can you stop?"

The phrasing of the question sounded strange to Lee. Not _would_ he stop, but _could_ he? In a way, it made sense. After all, Lee had never given up, even when he was unconscious after Gaara crushed half of his body. She understood that, like so few people did. Right now, he realized that somehow, despite his weird hair and freakish eyebrows, Sakura fully and honestly _respected_, even _admired_, him.

"Can you stop? For me?"

_Maybe that last leaf didn't matter after all.

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**endchapter2

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_**A/N:** Not sure exactly where to go from here, whether I should continue from this exact moment or skip ahead – AARRGGH, writer's block! Next chapter may be slow in coming._


	3. Lotus

_**A/N:**__ Wrote this one in class, __mwah__ ha. Those of __you__ who don't like long moments, prepare to be thoroughly MUSHED OUT OF YOUR MIND. __Action.

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**Lotus

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"Sakura-san, please -- let me go."

"No!"

It struck Lee how much authority Sakura pushed into that one word. It was neither a suggestion nor a plea -- it was a _command_.

Noting Lee's tension, Sakura softened her voice, if only very slightly.

"I can't let you go, Lee, because if I do, you'll -- you'll hurt yourself."

As she felt Lee shift slightly, Sakura released him and scooted hastily away -- to a more comfortable distance. Well, maybe _comfortable_ was the wrong word, since the motion had no effect in making the circumstances any lighter.

No matter how much it hurt his pride, Lee knew he would have to humor the girl, if only because she would almost definitely stop him again if he attempted to continue. Slowly, gingerly, he twisted himself into an awkwardly lopsided sitting position. A few yards away, Sakura sat slightly hunched, legs curled in so tightly to herself it almost looked like a lotus.

_Under the autumn trees, curved and colorful, she really did resemble a flower._

Lee shook his head, aggravating an aching muscle in his neck. He couldn't distract himself, not now.

But how much could he tell her? _How much did he even know himself?_

"Sakura..."

He opened his mouth, then shut it again. Her name hung there, naked, while Lee thought hard, not meeting the girl's eyes.

He couldn't tell her anything now. He had enough thinking to do, for himself.

"Sakura, I... can't tell you now."

He felt like some kind of traitor. It was like crushing a rosebud between his fingers; like striking a child.

Just as the first hurt-sodden syllable of dissent began to drag itself forth from Sakura's trembling lips, he regained himself.

"But I will."

His eyes snapped back to hers. A moment's silent gaze.

"Tomorrow. Come here again tomorrow evening, and I'll tell you."

He rose carefully, reaching for his crutch. _Gai__-sensei would be looking for him, people would start to worry. He knew where he had to go._

As he reached the edge of the clearing, he turned back to see Sakura, now standing, in the same spot. Self-consciously, she ran a timid hand along the forearm with which she had held Lee.

"I'll tell you everything. That's a promise."

As he turned to go, a leaf fell silently on his shoulder, blown off by the breeze an instant later, taking with it a tiny fragment of dust.

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**endchapter3

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_**A/N: **__So, yes. I am a sap. Next chapter will briefly gloss over the conversation w/ __Gai__ that occurs in the __manga__ chapter 180. __Mostly because I don't write __Gai__ well.__ I'm sorry if anyone feels teased by the slowness of it all, but I don't believe in random fluff. __Blarg_


	4. Promises

_**A/N:**__ Holy shiitake! Has it really been so long? Sorry, friends. The evil ninja known as "writer's block" has once again struck, but I fought back fiercely, and after a long and arduous battle – ah, to hell with it, here's the story. Action

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**Promises

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There were times when Lee was not absolutely certain of his sanity. There were times when he was certain that the very word "sanity" was inapplicable to his situation.

This was not one of those times.

It was a strange phenomenon for Lee that the more intense and complicated the situation got, the more determined he became. He was on top of his game when the game was nearly on top of him, so to speak.

Yesterday, at the training grounds with Sakura, he couldn't make much sense of anything. For the first time in a while, he didn't know what was going on in his head and what to do about it. He had lost himself to the pain and despair, if only for a while.

_Now, finally, he knew exactly what he had to do._

That day, he had relived everything – his dreams, his failures, his pain – from childhood to now, in front of Gai-sensei. His teacher. No, maybe even his _idol_. The man who taught him that just about anything is possible through hard work.

_And sacrifice._

Maybe Gai had never said that, but Lee had thought it. It was the unwritten motto of every leaf ninja – at least the decent ones: _above all, do not fear sacrifice – embrace it. That is what a true hero lives for._

"Take the surgery! Lee… if the surgery fails, I will die with you!"

So, with many tears, he agreed. _To sacrifice everything, to gain everything._ It was so much like those "self-imposed rules" that Gai-sensei had taught him, and that Lee now used on a daily basis.

"That's a promise!"

He regretted saying those same words to the flustered Sakura yesterday. She wouldn't agree with his decision, he knew that much about her. But she had asked, and he had promised. There were no options here.

With the first muffled crunch of thirsty grass under his feet, a lock of silken pink hair wisped from behind the tree against which its owner was leaning. Sakura was waiting.

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**endchapter4

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_**A/N:**__ Yes, I tease. I know the ending is awkward, but I felt like a break was necessary here – for "drama". At least you know what you're looking f__orward to__… laughs diabolically_

XD


	5. Slap

_**A/N:**__ The mother of all conundrums: I don't know how to handle the moment. The tough part about being an author is getting caught up in your own story – it's awfully hard to come up with another twist when you're on the edge of your seat with everyone else…_

_Moment of philosophical egomania__ now over. Action.

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**Slap

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Sakura could hear him approaching from the opposite side of the clearing. Her breath caught as she leaned nervously against the dark side of the roughly knotted tree.

After Lee left yesterday, she had mentally slapped herself for being so pushy. It wasn't like her_. Come to think of it, she always ac__ted differently around Lee__…_

This thought earned another stinging blow to the cerebrum. _Why was she overanalyzing everything lately?_ She was beginning to get quite annoyed with herself.

Of course it was none of her business, she knew that. She had considered not coming, had made up her mind several times to stay away from the training grounds if she knew what was good for her, had even considered chaining herself to a post so she wouldn't have to face this. In the end, all this maddening flip-flopping brought her were some concerns from her mother about how sickly she looked, and why on earth was she so red in the face, and _"I though I told you not to bite your nails; look, they're bleeding!"_

And yet she had come. If there was one thing that pulled her here, it was the look on Lee's face when he said those last words to her.

"I'll tell you everything. That's a promise."

_Thumb up__. Smile. Sparkle._

_And the swirling depth of confusion and pain in his eyes._

Sakura had never deliberately stood anyone up in her life. She didn't feel like starting that now, especially not with the unexpectedly fragile Rock Lee. It seemed paradoxical that a ninja with so much raw power and skill could so easily fall to tears.

_Strange yet beautiful._

Sakura's abused brain took yet another hit from her stubborn consciousness. _Stupid –_

That was the point at which Lee's arid footsteps interrupted her frustratingly circular train of thought. She exhaled slowly, clasping her fingers to hide the bitten nails – and to stop them from shaking. As gracefully as she could, she straightened, smoothed out the red silk of her garment, and turned to face the fading sunlight.

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**endchapter5

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_**A/N:**__ I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry!!! I feel so cruel, what with these ridiculously short and insubstantial chaplets I'm feeding you! It will definitely lead somewhere in the next chapter. That's a promise.__ sparkle_


	6. Just This Once

_**A/N:** Well, here goes. The big confession. Oh, and this will be the FINAL chapter. I hope I don't sap anyone to death. Into a coma, maybe. Erhrrm… action.

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**Just This Once

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Perhaps it was because the two had never arranged to meet so secretly that the space between them now was so filled with uneasiness. More likely, it was because of the fragility of the issue they were meeting to discuss. In any case, the awkwardness was somewhat one-sided. After his pep session with Gai, Lee was much more confident than when he left yesterday. He stood taller, walked more purposefully, and seemed to exude a determined aura.

Sakura was afraid.

The way he had looked at her before he left… she didn't like it, to put it simply. She was afraid that she would be hearing something she wouldn't want to.

She was right.

"Sakura-san," Lee began, with a nod of greeting, "we should sit down. This may take a while."

Still somewhat tongue-tied, Sakura merely blinked and did as she was told, sinking hazily to the ground and resting her back against the rough bark of the tree. She blinked again, this time in mild surprise, as she realized that Lee had seated himself not in front of her, but beside her, sharing the tree between them. It wasn't an uncomfortable closeness, but it was – _different_.

She supposed she could deal with that.

Lee took deep breath, held it for a split second, and began.

"Sakura, you remember… the Chuunin exam when I fought Gaara – well, of course you do. I know _I'll_ never forget…"

She nodded, casting her sea green eyes down in a solemn recollection of Lee's broken body.

"You probably heard that – they said I would never recover. That I would never be able to fight as a shinobi again?"

"Yes… wait – are you saying that – that there's a chance?"

Lee had wanted to reveal this in his own time, but there was no point in keeping his friend in suspense. "Yes. Tsunade-sama is willing to try a procedure to return my ninja abilities to normal, but, well, there's a chance that if it fails…" there was no soft way to say this. "I may die."

As expected, this news brought a sharp gasp from the girl next to him. If he knew Sakura's powers of deduction, she would get to the point well before he would, so he stayed silent a moment longer.

"How much of a chance?" Such a small voice carried these timid words, it was barely audible.

Lee smiled. "I knew you'd want to know." He sighed, anticipating the reaction. "Fifty percent."

Sakura's eyes, at their very widest, shot up to meet Lee's. "But—there's no other way? Nothing… safer?"

"No. There's no other way." He smiled at her, placidly. It was flattering, how concerned she was for him. "And I'm going to take the surgery. For myself, for my teachers… and for you, Sakura."

"For me? What – why would I want you to risk your life like that? I would never—"

"Because I promised you."

_Stunned silence._

"I know you heard me, yesterday. Judging by the time you showed up, you must have been close enough to hear me talking to myself… about you. I meant it."

They say that a dying man says a lot that a healthy man would keep to himself. Well, Lee didn't feel like he was dying, but the side effect was the same. This was something he couldn't still have on his chest when he went under the scalpel—or whatever method Tsunade planned to use. Being at this moment bolder than he had ever intended to be, he reached over and gently squeezed Sakura's hand.

"I promised I would protect you, Sakura. I intend to keep that promise."

"But what if the surgery fails! Then what? You can't risk everything for me, Lee! It's not – it's not worth it—"

The pressure on the girl's hand increased quite suddenly, almost painfully.

"Never. Say. That. Again. You're worth that much to me, and I'm not the only one. Shikamaru, Kiba, Neji, Naruto, Chouji. They're all risking their lives to bring back Sasuke, and they would all do the same for you."

Sakura removed her hand from Lee's and hid her face as a pair of silent sobs shook her. Lee knew he should comfort her, but he had never been the greatest at dealing with girls. He sat by silently, beginning to feel slightly awkward.

The sun was almost half submerged now. He really should walk Sakura home, once she was ready.

"Sakura," he began, as gently as he could, "it'll get dark soon, we should—"

"No. You go ahead. I'll be fine on my own." Her voice still shaking, the girl removed her hands from her face long enough to wave her hands in the general direction of away.

"I, uh – I can walk you home. In fact, I would be –"

"No. Just – go."

Lee was hurt, but he knew he would be pushing his luck if he persisted. Reluctantly, he stood, turning slowly. He felt like he hadn't said enough.

"Sakura, I, uh – goodnight."

_Not nearly enough._ Feeling very, very small, he retreated from their tree into the shrinking brightness of the clearing.

"Wait!"

Lee turned, his heart lifting slightly at Sakura's tone. As he turned back, he was suddenly encompassed by a trembling warmth…

Sakura was standing against him, her arms around his back, her head on his chest. A tear darkened the green fabric of his jumpsuit. His crutch knocked to the ground by the impact, Lee braced himself with a hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Sakura…" a whisper. It blended in quietly with her hushed sobs. As she leaned back her head, their eyes met at an oddly close angle.

"Lee… I don't believe that!"

"What?"

"I don't believe there's even a chance that… that the surgery will fail! Anyone else would have a chance of failure, but not you!" She paused, taking a breath, forcing her voice to regulate itself.

"Lee, all your life you've given everything one hundred percent. No, more than that. Lee, a fifty percent chance of failure only applies to fifty percent people. You will get your power back again, Lee!"

Hesitantly, Lee wrapped his arms around the girl's shoulders. "Sakura… thank you."

Lee's brain must have been clouded. That's the only explanation he had for what he did next.

Shifting slightly, he transferred his weight back onto his own two feet, causing Sakura to lose her balance. As she slipped helplessly into his arms, he reached one hand delicately behind her satin neck, guiding her lips to his like warm magnets before the setting sun.

Sakura's shock was gone in an instant as she relaxed against him. Lee felt like, just this once, he had everything he had ever wanted.

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"Lee. I'm prepared to do the surgery in one hour. Are you ready?" 

"Yes."

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**owari

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_**A/N:** I am high on sap now. I will read the reviews after I'm done alternately crying and giggling into this pillow. Arigatou… sniff_


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